In 1985, Guitar World eased off the heavy metal accelerator that had hit the floor the previous year.

Sure, there were articles on Vivian Campbell, Lita Ford and Warren DeMartini, but aside from Edward Van Halen making his fourth cover appearance, the feature pieces stuck pretty close to blues and classic rock.

It was also a remarkable year for Guitar World as the magazine celebrated its fifth birthday. Thus began the tradition of commemorating special occasions with special issues. The fifth anniversary issue was the first to feature Jimi Hendrix on the cover and included commentary from 1985's most notable players such as Billy Gibbons, Adrian Belew and Eric Clapton.

Check out the collection of covers from 1985 below beginning with Jeff Beck. And don't miss next week when we kick off 1986 with neo-classical shred icon Yngwie Malmsteen.

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Guitar World Covers Through the Years: 1985

Jeff Beck was only months away from releasing Flash when he made his second cover appearance on Guitar World. Flash would eventually go on to win Beck a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental performance, but not before our January issue gave readers a peak into the iconic guitarist's recording process.

Being a true rock 'n' roll journeyman, by 1985 Ron Wood had seen it all. He'd hung around with Hendrix, taken on bass in the Jeff Beck Group and was made an official member of the Rolling Stones nine years earlier. In our March issue, Wood talked about stealing his first bass and how the Jeff Beck Group came to its abrupt end.

Well before "Jump, Jive and Wail" landed him at the forefront of the late '90s swing revival, Brian Setzer's work with the Stray Cats made him an established master of rockabilly guitar. By 1985, however, the Stray Cats were no more, and Setzer was preparing to record his first solo album, The Knife Feels Like Justice.

By 1985, Eddie Van Halen had become a regular staple on the covers of Guitar World. In this, his fourth appearance, Van Halen remarked on his marriage to Valerie Bertinelli, and how he would feel if he had a son or daughter who would one day want to follow in his footsteps.

Guitar World's fifth anniversary issue, and our first posthumous cover artist. It was only a matter of time before Jimi Hendrix would be featured on the cover. That it coincided with the magazine's fifth birthday was apt; a celebratory cover ought to feature the most celebrated guitarist of all time.

In his first cover story with Guitar World, Stevie Ray Vaughan opened up about his tumultuous battle with drugs and alcohol. Vaughan was still fighting an uphill battle at the time, but would be clean and sober by his next cover appearance almost three years later.

You know what would be really cool? If Guitar World would reissue these old classic issues for those of us that weren't subscribers back in the early 80's. I know I'd buy them. I'd particularly love the Jimmy Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan issues.